Four years into operations, Hackley partners with Ike and George Hoffman, selling half the interest of the distillery, and it rebrands as the Hoffman and Hackley Distillery. One year later, in 1894, Hackley sells the rest of his shares, and the facility becomes Hoffman Distilling Company. It’s the Hoffmans who are credited with creating iconic brands such as Old Hoffman and Old Spring, known for high quality. 

After a number of successful years, Hoffman falls on hard times, and the distillery files for bankruptcy in 1912 and shuts down. 

The temperance movement gains steam and spirits sales dwindle. Right before Prohibition begins in 1920, most of the Hoffman distillery is torn down. 

After the repeal of Prohibition, Lawrenceberg brothers Robert and Ezra Ripy purchase the property, and build a new distillery, rickhouses, and a bottling house. They keep the name Hoffman Distilling Company, though. 

The Ripys are bourbon barons; Bob and Ez, as they’re known to friends and family, are two of 10 children of Thomas Ripy, a famed distiller from Lawrenceberg in the late 1800s. (Two of Bob and Erza’s brothers are also distillers, and ultimately start what becomes Wild Turkey, a few miles up the road from Hoffman.) 

Bob is the numbers whiz, while Ezra is more of a marketing savant, and the two are the perfect pair to shepherd Hoffman through a booming period. For the next decade and a half, multiple variations and versions of whiskey are created, many are sold as white labels for other brands. 

As the Sixties near, whiskey is on the decline as a category. Some blame James Bond for popularizing vodka, though a more plausible explanation is that distillery consolidation after World War II was rough and, with only a few major players left, the lack of competition led to lazy production and a drop in quality. 

One whiskey brand still thriving? Jack Daniel’s.

Sales of Jack Daniel’s skyrocketed 900% over the decade prior. Driving that brand affinity is Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack, who drink Jack on stage and in movies, and are generally never out of arm’s reach of a bottle. When Brown Forman takes ownership of the brand in 1956, it isn’t able to keep up with the demand. A production shortage looms for Jack. 

This seems like an opportunity to an entrepreneur named Frank Silverman, who comes to the Hoffman distillery to source and bottle whiskey. His aim? Emulate the bottle design and label of Jack Daniel’s to capture some of its market share. But what to call this new whiskey? 

Erza Brooks. 

While there’s no such person, rumor has it Ezra Ripy served as inspiration for half the moniker. Silverman’s ploy works, and Ezra Brooks is a smash success. 

Ezra Brooks is such a hit that Brown Forman sues Silverman, and the Hoffman distillery, citing trademark infringement of Jack Daniel’s. But a judge sides with Hoffman, and the distillery celebrates a significant legal victory, affirming its right to its unique branding and packaging. More Ezra Brooks rolls off the Hoffman production line. 

With the burgeoning popularity of Ezra Brooks, the Hoffman distillery is renamed the Ezra Brooks Distillery. 

Whiskey’s star is again dimming. Facing category-wide challenges, the Ezra Brooks brand is acquired by the Charles Medley distillery. 

Starting in the mid-Seventies, the Hoffman distillery ekes by relying on decanter sales, with 90 proof, 8-year straight bourbon among the more popular ones. However, the demand for America’s spirit simply isn’t there. In 1979, Hoffman shutters. 

In 1981, Diageo took over the Stitzel-Weller distillery, ending the Van Winkle family’s affiliation with the facility. Diageo begins to sell off old barrels of bourbon, made and laid down under Pappy Van Winkle’s watch, and his grandson, Julian Van Winkle III, spends years buying his grandfather’s barrels. But Julian needs a place to bottle them as Old Rip Van Winkle products. 

In 1983, Van Winkle purchases the dormant Hoffman distillery and christens it Commonwealth Distillery. For nearly two decades, Van Winkle works tirelessly to bottle and sell his family’s whiskey reserves. He doesn’t know it then, but what he’s bottling will become some of the world’s most desired and coveted whiskey. 

Following a deal with Buffalo Trace for it to bottle and sell Van Winkle products, Julian Van Winkle shutters Commonwealth Distillery. It’s soon purchased by Lou DeFino, a local sign maker who uses the facilities as his workshop. 

Zachary Joseph and Andrew English, a nephew and uncle who are enamored with the Commonwealth Distillery’s history and its venerable products, purchase it. Along with family friend and partner Troy LeBlanc, the trio aim to revive the facility, calling it Old Commonwealth. They’ll relaunch the iconic labels the distillery once produced, while memorializing and preserving the facility’s heritage. Committed to offering the finest bourbon and ryes, a meticulous sourcing operation is underway to ensure that each new expression upholds the high bar of quality.